Bungie to Reveal Marathon Gameplay in Upcoming Livestream

Bungie is gearing up to unveil more about its eagerly anticipated PvP extraction shooter, Marathon, with an exciting gameplay livestream scheduled for this Saturday, April 12 (or April 13, depending on your time zone). The excitement began last week when the Destiny developer teased fans with a cryptic tweet featuring a 15-second video that immediately sparked a community-wide sleuthing effort as part of an extensive alternative reality game.

Astute players discovered that the ASCII art in the video contained "a snippet of footage from the initial trailer," specifically showing "the runner sprinting down a hall from the trailer." Another intriguing message surfaced: "WHEN WILL HE RETURN ERROR ERROR ERROR HAS OCCURRED THE ENEMY RETURNED SYSTEM WARNING: PROTOCOL BREACH EVACUATE THE BASE IMMEDIATELY ALL UNITS REPORT TO STATION INITIATE EMERGENCY PROTOCOL 7 DATA LOSS IMMINENT GOOD LUCK, COMMANDER."

Bungie acknowledged the community's efforts, stating, "Thousands of community members across the world worked together to unlock the gameplay reveal date for Bungie’s upcoming extraction shooter Marathon." The livestream is set to kick off at 10 am PDT (San Francisco) / 1 pm EDT (New York) / 6 pm BST (London) / 7 pm CEST (Berlin/Paris) / 9 pm GST (Dubai) on Saturday, April 12, and at 2 am JST (Tokyo) / 3 am AEST (Sydney) / 5 pm NZST (Auckland) on Sunday, April 13.

First revealed in May 2023, Marathon is a reboot of the classic Bungie franchise, embracing themes of "mysteries, eeriness, and psychological creepiness." The game is set on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, where players will take on the roles of Runners, cybernetic mercenaries engineered to withstand the planet's harsh conditions. As they explore the remnants of a lost colony, players will hunt for valuable loot, including new weapons and gear.

Since the initial reveal, updates have been scarce. However, a development update video in October provided insights into Marathon's mechanics, though Bungie emphasized the game was still in its early stages. The gaming landscape has also shifted, with Sony reevaluating its focus on live-service games following the abrupt cancellation of Concord. In November 2023, Sony president Hiroki Totoki announced the company's commitment to launching just six of the 12 planned live service games by March 2026, a move that also led to the cancellation of The Last of Us multiplayer game.

Bungie has faced its own challenges, including significant layoffs. In July 2024, the company laid off 220 staff members, representing 17% of its workforce, less than a year after another round of 100 layoffs. Additionally, former Marathon director Chris Barrett was reportedly fired following an internal misconduct investigation, and subsequently sued Sony Interactive Entertainment and Bungie for over $200 million.

To catch the Marathon gameplay reveal live, tune into the official Marathon Twitch channel on April 12.